Indiana
University
History
C300
Byzantine
History
Spring Semester 2009
Prof. Deborah M. Deliyannis
Place:
Ballantine Hall 240
Office: BH 708
Time:
TuTh
2:30-3:45 pm
Office Hours: Wednesdays
1:30-3:30, or by appt.
Class no. 26661
email: ddeliyan@indiana.edu
Although
the Roman empire "fell" in western Europe, the eastern half of the
Roman empire survived for over a thousand years, and is known to us as
the
Byzantine empire. Until the
thirteenth century, it remained one of the most powerful and splendid
societies
in the world, far overshadowing the emerging countries of western
Europe. This course is designed as an
introduction to Byzantine history and civilization, A.D 330-1453. In it we will explore the survival of
the eastern empire, how it developed a distinctive Christian culture
and
ideology, how it interacted with, and impacted, its neighbors, and how
it
responded to economic, political, and military challenges.
The 1000
years of Byzantine history consists of ups and downs; periods when
strong
emperors and generals brought peace, or at least victory, to the
empire, and
periods in which internal turmoil and weak emperors led to internal
chaos and
disastrous losses of territory.
Ultimately, this is a story of the decline of an empire, but a
decline
that was not continuous. One of
the things we will consider is what stayed the same throughout the
course of
this 1000 years, and in what ways Byzantine society and culture changed
radically.
Course
requirements
The
following are the requirements for this course:
Attendance
6%
Four 5-7 page papers
40% (10% each)
Participation in debate 12%
Midterm exam
17%
Final exam
25%
Class meetings will
consist of lecture and
discussion. Readings from the
textbooks are assigned in order to provide background and supplementary
material to what happens in class.
It is very important that you do the reading BEFORE the class
for which
it is assigned. Discussion, group
activities,
debates, and other types of exercises will take place at various points
in the
semester, and you will be expected to be prepared for these.
Instructions for the
papers may be
found at the end of this syllabus.
Each
paper is
based on one of the full-length primary source readings for the class. You must read each book by the time you
write your paper, as well as any relevant textbook readings. Each paper must be turned in in
class on the day that it is due.
Even an hour after class will be counted as late; late papers
will be
marked down one letter grade for each day that they are late.
On five
days we will have a debate in which
members from the class participate.
You will be assigned to a team of 3-4 students for one debate. ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE MADE AT THE SECOND
CLASS MEETING. You will be graded
individually on your participation, and each person will have ample
opportunity
to participate. A website has been
created for each debate, linked to the online syllabus, that contains
the
debate topic, readings (or links to readings), images, and other
materials. Further instructions for the
debates can be found below.
The midterm and final
exams will be a combination of short
identifications and essays (they may also include a map section). They will be open-note tests; you may
NOT however use books or photocopies.
It behooves you, therefore, to attend class and take good notes;
also to
take good notes on readings and other materials. Because
this form of test is often difficult for people who
haven't taken one before, a "practice test" will be made available
three weeks before the midterm.
This test can be graded so that you can see how you might have
done,
although it will not count toward your class grade.
There will be
opportunities for extra credit during the
semester; usually this involves attending a lecture and writing a
one-page
summary of it. These will be
announced as the dates are publicized, but already you might note that
the
Medieval Studies Institute's annual symposium will take place March
27-28, and
a major international conference, Shifting Cultural Frontiers in
Late
Antiquity,
will
take place on campus April 2-5.
Both of these feature sessions of scholarly papers, for which
extra
credit will be given (however, note instructions for April 2 on
syllabus). Note that attending a lecture
or
session (and writing a summary) will earn you 2% on your semester
average; I
will give each person a maximum of 4% extra credit earned in this
fashion. Summaries must be turned in a
week
after the event.
Readings
There is a
textbook for the class, from which readings are assigned on the
syllabus:
Gregory, Timothy.
A History
of Byzantium: 306-1453. (Blackwell
Publishers, 2005).
There are
also several full-length texts assigned, of which two should be bought
in the
bookstore, and the others are found on the World Wide Web, linked to
the
syllabus. Those available for
purchase are:
Hull, Denison B., trans. Digenis Akritas: The Two-Blood
Border Lord. (Ohio
University Press, 1986).
Anthony Kaldellis, ed.
and trans.,
Mothers and Sons, Fathers and Daughters: The Byzantine Family of
Michael
Psellos
(University of Notre Dame Press, 2006).
Those found on the web
are:
Holy
Women of Byzantium:
Ten Saints' Lives in English Translation, edited
by Alice-Mary
Talbot: read "St. Matrona of
Perge" and "St. Elisabeth the Wonder-worker"
Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History, on
Pulcheria: read: Book
IX chs. 1-3.
Byzantine
Monastic Foundation Documents: A
Complete Translation of the Surviving Founder's Typika and Testaments, Edited
by John
Thomas and Angela Constantinides Hero:
read selections 46, 49, and 51;
Website and Oncourse
A website
has been set up for this class, at:
http://www.indiana.edu/~dmdhist/C206s09.htm.
The syllabus can also by linked from Oncourse.
The Oncourse Resources folder will be
used for additional readings (some of which are connected to the
debates); all
Powerpoint presentations used in class will also be placed in the
Resources
folder.
The origins
of Byzantium
Jan. 13
Introduction:
The Roman empire in crisis
Gregory,
pp. 1-44
Jan. 15
Constantine to Theodosius
Gregory,
pp. 45-94
Jan. 20
The Barbarians and the "fall of
Rome"
Gregory,
pp. 95-101, 106-110
The Early Byzantine
Empire
(400-843)
Jan.
22 Constantinople
Gregory,
pp. 56-60
Jan. 27
Fifth-century women: empresses and
saints
Paper
1 due (on selections from Holy
Women of Byzantium and Sozomen's
Ecclesiastical History; see instructions below)
For
background, read Gregory, pp. 98-99, 141-142
Jan.
29 Religion and society
in the fifth and sixth centuries
Gregory,
pp. 101-106, 110-118, 138-139
Feb.
3 Debate 1:
Justinian
Gregory,
pp. 119-140, 143-147
Feb.
5 The
"Dark Ages"
Gregory,
pp. 148-160
Feb. 10
Persia and Islam
Gregory,
pp. 160-178
Feb.
12 New realities:
social and military organization
Gregory,
pp. 178-181
Feb. 17
Debate 2:
Iconoclasm
Everybody
read Gregory, pp. 183-213 for background
The Middle Byzantine
Empire
(843-1050)
Feb. 19
Domestic politics: the Macedonian
dynasty
Gregory,
pp. 202-209, 217-256
Feb. 24
Epic and the Byzantine hero
Paper
2 due (on Digenis Akritas, see below)
Feb.
26 Foreign relations
Gregory,
pp. 217-256
Mar. 3
The Christianization of Eastern Europe
Gregory,
pp. 213-216
Mar.
5 Debate 3:
Military vs. Bureaucracy
Everybody
read Gregory, pp. 248-250 for background
Mar. 10
The Macedonian renaissance
Mar. 12
Midterm exam
Spring Break
Disaster and
recovery
(1050-1261)
Mar. 24
The Turks and the Normans
Gregory,
pp. 252-256
Mar. 26
Class does not meet - instructor at a conference
A
short online activity, that can be done during class time or whenever
you wish,
must be completed and turned in by 5 pm on Mar. 26, using the Oncourse
DropBox. Details will follow.
Mar. 31
Society and Culture in the Twelfth Century
Paper
3 due (on Mothers and Sons, Fathers and Daughters, see below)
Read
Gregory, pp. 274-279, for background information
Apr.
2 Class
does not meet - Shifting Frontiers Conference at IU
Instead
of class, you must attend one of the following, and turn in a one-page
summary
(can be handwritten notes) of the event, due April 7:
STRONGLY
RECOMMENDED: lecture by Robin Lane
Fox (Oxford University), Wednesday, April 1, 7-8:30 pm, location TBA
ALTERNATE: one of the sessions of
the Shifting
Frontiers Conference, Thurs. Apr. 2-Sun. Apr. 5 (schedule at http://www.indiana.edu/~sf8/Program.php).
Due to limited space, if you plan to take this option, you
must confirm it with me by March 31.
Apr.
7 The
Comneni
and the Crusades
Gregory,
pp. 257-273
Apr. 9
Debate 4:
The Fourth Crusade
Everybody
read Gregory, pp. 279-281, for background
Apr. 14
The Frankish interregnum
Gregory,
pp. 282-297
The Late Byzantine
period
Apr. 16
The return of the Byzantines
Gregory,
pp. 298-324
Apr. 21
Late Byzantine monasticism and spirituality
Paper
4 due (on selections from Byzantine
Monastic Foundation Documents, see below)
Apr.
23 Meteora and Mystras
Gregory,
pp. 312-314, 326-328
Apr.
28 Debate 5:
The Council of Florence
Everybody
read Gregory, pp. 324-330 for background
Apr. 30
The fall of Byzantium
Gregory,
pp. 330-358
Final
exam: Tuesday,
May 5, 2:45-4:45 p.m. in the regular classroom
History
C300
Instructions
for Papers
Each of
the books that we are reading for this class is of a different type: saints' lives and history, epic,
personal essays, and monastic documents.
I would like you to begin to understand how history can be
written based
on different types of source; therefore you will be writing on the same
topic
for each paper, and there will be an essay question on the final exam
in which
you are expected to summarize your results.
You are
to write on one of the following topics. Whichever topic you
choose must
be the one that you use for all four papers.
- The Byzantine family
- Religion and Byzantine society
You will
write on this topic for all four papers; these topics have been chosen
because
there is information in all the sources for you to use (although
sometimes you
may have to dig for it!).
For each
paper, write an essay in which you discuss the topic. What kind
of
information does this text provide? Are you able to form a good
picture
of the subject in question from this source? Do any things that you
read
surprise you?
You
should consider, if appropriate, what biases or problems there might be
with
the text, so that the picture it presents might not be complete or
accurate.
For example, do you come away with a good overall picture of your
topic, or
only of one facet of it? Be sure to include specific quotes from
the text
to explain each of your points.
When I
say that you should be quoting from "the text", I mean the part of
the text that was written in the Middle Ages. Of course you may
read the
introduction to each text, and the notes; in fact, I encourage you to
do so, as
it will give you a better sense of the text. But the parts you
should
really concentrate on are the texts themselves.
Some
specific comments on the texts for the papers
The texts
that you are reading for today are about strong women of
the fifth century (although some of the texts are written slightly
later) who
were considered saints even in their lifetimes. Read
the following:
Holy
Women of Byzantium: Ten Saints'
Lives in English Translation,, edited
by Alice-Mary Talbot
Read: St. Matrona of Perge
St.
Elisabeth the Wonder-worker
Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History, on
Pulcheria
Read: Book IX chs. 1-3
Digenis
Akritas
is the
hero of an epic poem. The action
takes place in the late 9th/early 10th century, although the poem was
probably
composed a century or more later, as an oral poem, and then written
down even
later than that. This poem was written
as entertainment for members of the provincial aristocracy; presumably
it would
have been recited at banquets.
Read pp. 3-113 (and the introduction if you wish).
Michael
Psellos was a philosopher and government official in the
mid-11th century. He wrote many
different texts on many subjects (including astronomy, medicine,
grammar,
physics, and a major history of his own day, 976-1077, called the Chronographia). The texts included in this book,
though, are his writings that have to do with his family - encomia are
essays in praise
of someone, and the letters and other documents are related to his
family
members.
When a
monastery was founded, or when a substantial donation was made to a
monastery, a
document was usually drawn up explaining who was completing the action,
why
they were doing it, and what they expected the monks/nuns to do. Several of these documents have
survived from the later Byzantine period, and have been translated:
Byzantine
Monastic Foundation Documents:
A Complete
Translation of
the Surviving Founder's Typika and Testaments, Edited
by John
Thomas and Angela Constantinides Hero
Read
selections 46, 49, and 51; they consist of last
wills and testaments of various
people, as well as rules for monastic conduct written by various people. As you read the documents, be sure to
focus on the part that says "Translation" - the introductory
material, which is quite lengthy, can be skipped if you prefer, and
certainly
should not form the evidence for your paper.
Some general
instructions
for the papers:
-
Papers should be typed/word processed, if possible, and should be of a
length
equivalent to 5-7 double-spaced pages, with settings of 1 inch margins
(top,
bottom, and sides) and twelve-point font.
-
Don't be afraid of including your own opinions about what is in the
book; the
purpose of the exercise is to make you react to the book and what it is
about.
- When you quote or paraphrase
any part
of any written text, either these books or any other published
material, you
must provide the appropriate reference, either in footnotes or endnotes. Failure to provide adequate references is
considered plagiarism, which I am required to report to the Office of
Student
Ethics. If you have any question
about your use of sources, it is better to be on the safe side and
provide a
reference. If you have questions about what constitutes plagiarism, see
the
section on academic misconduct at http://dsa.indiana.edu/Code/index1.html
Guidelines for writing
a paper:
-
Introduction. These are fairly
short papers. It is essential for
a good paper that you have a strong introduction that clearly explains
what you
are going to be discussing. That
way, each paragraph makes sense in the context of the whole thing. Don't let it be a surprise to the
reader! One way to do this, which
is effective, is to have the concluding sentence of the first paragraph
be: "In this paper I will
show that/how . . ." Don't be afraid of using such a sentence! That is not the only way to do it, but
it works. Also, PUT YOUR
CONCLUSION IN THE INTRODUCTION! Do
not say "I will show the way that Psellos describes the family," but
rather say, "I will show that Psellos describes the family as a close
and
loving unit."
-
Be sure to include dates in the introduction, both the date the text
was
written, and the date of the events described in the text (if they are
different).
-
Use of source. Be SURE to provide
specific quotes from the source, appropriately referenced, for every
point you
make. Don't just generalize about
what it says; that is not the right way to go about proving your point.
-
Don't waste time summarizing the plot of the text; or if you want to
provide a
summary, it should be no more than one paragraph long.
-
If you are quoting a passage that is more than 3 lines long, it should
be set
as a block quote: indented and
single-spaced.
DEBATES
- GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS
Note that there is no
term-paper for this class. The debate is
an opportunity for you to
examine one issue in more depth than simply reading a book and reacting
to
it. I expect that for your debate
you will be well-prepared, knowledgable about the historical background
and the
issue itself, and able to argue a case.
You are not required to do huge amounts of research, but you
should at a
minimum be very familiar with everything provided on the debate webpage. Pay particular attention to the primary
sources, on which you should base your argument.
Since this is a group
activity, you must meet with members
of your debate team at least one time prior to the class
meeting in
which the debate will take place.
If you have questions about who your team members are, or how to
get in
touch with them, let me know.
The debate will take
the place of lecture on a given topic
for that day; thus, debaters will be responsible for providing
background
material on their subjects (from the textbook, for example) as well as
arguing
their side. Background material
assignments are made on the debate webpage. At
a minimum you should present the relevant material from
the textbook, in such a way that it forms a useful introduction to the
debate.
You may certainly use additional materials if you like.
The background material
is intended to give everyone in
the class the necessary background to understand what the debate is
about. It covers what the primary sources
are
that you are using, what the background to the issues is, and what the
main
outline of the issue was. As such,
you should be prepared to speak for about 4-5 minutes for EACH item of
background. You should certainly
include names and dates. If you
are in doubt as to whether you are clear enough, practice on a roommate
and ask
if he/she understands! You might
find it helpful to have this material written out and just read it
(that is
perfectly fine), if you are nervous speaking from notes, or if you
think you
might forget some of it. Or you
can speak from notes if you feel more comfortable doing so.
EVERYONE IN THE CLASS
SHOULD LOOK AT THE DEBATE MATERIALS
AND READ THE ASSIGNMENT IN THE TEXTBOOK for that day; this material
will not
otherwise be covered in lecture, but you will be expected to know it
for the
tests.
Each debate assignment
will consist of seven or eight
parts. You must prepare all
the parts, as you do not know which part(s) you will be called upon to
present. In addition to the
presentation and argumentation stages of the debate, there will also be
counter-argument for which you should be prepared to speak on the spot. You will be graded INDIVIDUALLY on how
well you do on the part that you were called on to present, AND how you
do in
counter-arguments and conclusions.
I will NOT be grading you on your debating skills, so if you
have never
debated before, that is not a problem.
Note that in order to
create a solid argument for your
side, you will have to figure out what the opposing side's arguments
might be
so that you can plan what your counter-argument will be.
You will be expected to present a solid
and detailed argument for your side, using background and other
information.
The
structure of each debate will be the following:
I.
Presentation of the background material
A. Team 1
B. Team 2
II.
Presentation of the proposition - Team
1
A. Define the topic and the basis
of your
argument
B. Give your main arguments in
detail,
including quotes from primary sources
III.
Presentation of the opposition - Team 2
A. Define the basis of your
argument,
possibly rebutting some points of Team 1.
B. Give your arguments in detail,
including quotes from primary sources
IV.
Counter-arguments
A. Team 1
B. Team 2
V.
Summaries: summarize your
arguments, rebut the arguments of the main
team, state why your argument is preferable
VI.
Vote by the class